ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday raised concerns over mounting financial pressures on United Nations peacekeeping operations along with a lack of cooperation from some host countries, warning that the challenges risk undermining the effectiveness and safety of missions worldwide.

Pakistan’s top diplomat at the UN flagged the issues while speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on peacekeeping police components.

Pakistan is one of the world’s top troop-contributing countries and has deployed more than 235,000 peacekeepers to 48 UN missions across four continents over the past eight decades.

A total of 182 of its peacekeepers have also lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

“We are concerned at the current challenges faced by the United Nations peacekeeping, both financial as well as those arising from lack of host state cooperation,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the council. “Pakistan underscores the importance of full cooperation by host States to enable timely deployment of peacekeepers including police components where authorized by the Security Council.”

He noted that UN missions were operating under acute financial stress, leading to capacity reductions that directly affected mandate delivery and the safety of peacekeepers, while UN police units continued to face gaps between authorized strength and actual deployments.

Ahmad urged UN member states to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time to ensure peacekeeping missions remain operationally capable.

“Blue helmets are the most visible symbol of the United Nations commitment to peace and stability,” he said. “Peacekeeping brings relevance and legitimacy to this organization by making a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

Pakistan has contributed both military and police personnel to UN operations, deploying more than 50 formed police units to missions including Haiti, Darfur, Timor-Leste and Côte d’Ivoire, according to Pakistan’s UN mission.